Some things only need to be touched upon lightly. Say too much, and it will only breed resentment — and sometimes even a sound argument loses its ground when pressed too far. The woman Xianglin’s wife is the perfect cautionary example of that.

Shiyiniang looked at Xu Sizhun’s small, grave-faced expression and smiled. “All right. I’ll have Qiu Yu and the others bring water for you to wash your faces — that place was all smoke and fumes. You’ll need to go and pay your respects to Grandmother shortly, and you mustn’t give Grandmother a fright.” She then called Qiu Yu in. “We’ve already given Fourth Young Madam quite a scare today — don’t trouble her further. Ask one of the younger maids to bring in water.” She instructed her to take Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie to the small room next door to wash and tidy themselves up. She then called Zhuxiang in. “Go and inform the Grand Madam — just say that with all sorts of people mixed together today, I’m afraid of startling Jin Ge’er, and I won’t be coming out to watch the rest of the performance.”

Zhuxiang went off to carry out the errand.

Shiyiniang’s smile faded, and her expression shifted to one of quiet contemplation.

In earlier years, although Xu Sijie had been beautiful, he had still been young and raised in the inner quarters. The people who came and went were all family and close friends, and the other children of the Xu household were also remarkable-looking. No one had given him particular notice. Over recent years, as his features had gradually matured and grown more defined, a loveliness had entered his brows and eyes that was quite distinct from the handsome, upright bearing characteristic of the Xu children. If nothing was said, one would simply think this child too exquisitely fine-featured. But now that someone had pointed it out, there was every chance it might call to mind things from the past, and lead people to associate him with the opera performer Liu Huifang, who had once been famous for her beauty in her day. Rather than draw people’s attention and invite trouble, it was far better to find an excuse to stay in the warm chamber until the performance was over before coming out.

Shiyiniang had always been very attentive to matters concerning Jin Ge’er, and the Grand Madam suspected nothing upon hearing the message. The two boys, for their part, found themselves drawn along by Shiyiniang to recount various amusing stories from their lives together, and chattered away with great relish — quite oblivious to any deeper purpose on her part. Only Jin Ge’er, having slept his fill, could hear the voices and laughter outside, the thunderous beating of gongs and drums — and found it utterly impossible to sit still. He began clamoring to go out and see the excitement.

Xu Sijie, who was ordinarily so fond of staying close to Shiyiniang, heard this and showed a look of eager anticipation. He pressed his lips together, held it in, held it in — and in the end let his head drop down.

Shiyiniang noticed, and quietly let out a small sigh. She instructed Zhuxiang to go and fetch Fifth Madam’s son Shen Ge’er over to join them. “…With someone to keep him company, Jin Ge’er won’t be as fussy.”

Fifth Madam was already displeased that Third Madam had invited so many neighbors and ordinary people from the surrounding lanes, and was afraid that some uncouth individual might give Shen Ge’er a fright. Zhuxiang’s arrival gave her a welcome way to step back gracefully — she not only had the wet nurse bring Shen Ge’er to the warm chamber, she also sent Xin Jie’er along with him.

Fang Shi was in the side room keeping company with the Grand Madam and her own mother. Seeing that a room full of boys had only one little girl among them, and thinking of how Xin Jie’er ordinarily got along well with Jin Shi, she hurried to invite Jin Shi over to keep Xin Jie’er company.

Jin Shi was bored at just that moment, and went over in high spirits.

Third Madam watched this and nearly choked with frustration.

Since Fang Shi’s mother had come to Yanjing, she and Third Madam had already clashed several times, and Third Madam had come out the loser every time. On this occasion, she had deliberately arranged for Jin Shi to be seated close to the Grand Madam, intending to let Fang Shi’s mother see just how much the Grand Madam doted on Jin Shi. As it turned out, the Grand Madam had barely exchanged two words with Jin Shi before Fang Shi whisked her away — and Jin Shi had been whisked away with complete willingness and delight. Third Madam couldn’t help but feel a surge of “a piece of wood too warped to be carved into anything.”

Ever since the incident over a pair of yellow orioles had created a feud between Xin Jie’er and Jin Ge’er, every time Xin Jie’er saw Jin Ge’er she would turn her head and walk away. But Jin Ge’er had long since forgotten the whole matter, and would run up to her face calling “Elder Sister.” Xin Jie’er was cross, and with Shiyiniang present could not very well ignore him entirely, so she reluctantly and resentfully called out “Sixth Younger Brother,” then ran delightedly over to Xu Siyu. “Fourth Elder Brother, let’s play sandbag toss.” And she shot Jin Ge’er a smug glance.

Jin Ge’er was busy being chased by Xin Jie’er’s younger brother Shen Ge’er: “Sixth Elder Brother, Sixth Elder Brother, let’s play horsey!”

Unlike his sister Xin Jie’er, Shen Ge’er was extremely fond of playing with Jin Ge’er. It wasn’t only because the two were close in age — it was also that here in Jin Ge’er’s room, Shiyiniang was nothing like Fifth Madam with her many restrictions. Lots of things he was not permitted to do at home were perfectly fine to do here in Jin Ge’er’s room. It gave him a feeling of doing exactly as he pleased.

The moment he came through the door, he wriggled free from the wet nurse’s arms, grabbed Jin Ge’er’s sleeve, and called out “Sixth Elder Brother” in a coaxing, flattering way. “Let’s play horsey!” His manner was entirely ingratiating.

Xin Jie’er watched and stamped her foot, shrieking at Shen Ge’er: “You’d better be careful, or I’ll go tell Mother you were misbehaving here in Jin Ge’er’s room.”

Their father was most fond of his elder sister, and as a result she had the most formidable temper of anyone. Shen Ge’er had long grown immune to Xin Jie’er’s periodic fits of fury. He continued to pester Jin Ge’er. “All right, Sixth Elder Brother? All right?”

Jin Ge’er was very fond of playing with Shen Ge’er as well.

In his mind, Xu Siyu was here today and gone tomorrow — an impression too faint to leave much of a mark, someone neither here nor there. Xu Sizhun was wonderful, but terribly timid. He wouldn’t let him do this, and wouldn’t let him do that — even more restrictive than the nannies. Xu Sijie lived with him under the same roof, and whenever he wanted to do something, Xu Sijie would patiently keep him company, and even made him little chickens and birds as gifts. But none of that was quite as good as Shen Ge’er — the two of them together were always brimming with enthusiasm about everything they did, giving him the feeling of true satisfaction.

He immediately clambered up the tall table, clumsily reaching to pull the feather duster from the flower vase.

Seeing this, A Jin quickly stepped forward to help.

Jin Ge’er then handed the feather duster over to Shen Ge’er.

Shen Ge’er tucked it between his legs in the manner of riding a horse, bounded around the room with a “giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up,” and called out to Jin Ge’er to join him: “Sixth Elder Brother, you come play too!”

Jin Ge’er ran to the platform and grabbed the horsetail whisk, and the two of them romped and chased each other around the room with shrieks of laughter.

Xin Jie’er’s face remained taut and tight.

Xu Sizhun quickly said: “Second Younger Sister, let’s play sandbag toss!”

Jin Shi also coaxed Xin Jie’er: “Yes, yes! It’s been such a long time since we’ve all played together!”

Only then did Xin Jie’er’s expression soften somewhat.

The children now couldn’t stand the sight of each other — but when they were grown, these would all be cherished memories.

Shiyiniang watched with a smile and moved off the platform to clear space for Xin Jie’er to play sandbag toss.

The two younger ones, meanwhile, one wielding the feather duster and the other the horsetail whisk, began exchanging blows.

The room was more raucous than even the New Year.

Shiyiniang, for her part, quietly let out a breath of relief.

When they returned home, she asked Xu Lingyi: “What are people outside saying about Jie Ge’er?”

Xu Lingyi was taken aback. “What have you heard?”

Shiyiniang told Xu Lingyi everything that had happened that day, exactly as it occurred. “…Once is enough — twice will follow. We cannot protect him forever. We must make plans early.”

Xu Lingyi mused: “What are your thoughts?”

“This coming spring, Jie Ge’er is due to move to the outer quarters,” Shiyiniang said. “I would like to find him a more secluded courtyard, and have Steward Bai select a few sharp-witted attendant boys for Jie Ge’er — that way, it will be harder for things to reach his ears. In a year or two, when he is older and more mature, we can tell him about his origins. There’s no need to say very much — simply tell him that his birth mother was the Marquis’s kept woman outside the household, and that after his birth mother passed away, the Marquis brought him back home…”

Xu Lingyi thought it over. “Very well — we’ll do as you say.”

A few days later, on the winter solstice, Shiyiniang took the opportunity of helping the Grand Madam paste up the Ninety-Nine Cold-Dispelling Charts to raise the matter. “…It will be quieter there, which will also be better for his studies.”

In the Xu household, boys were moved to the outer quarters to live independently when they reached the age of ten. As for the specific arrangements, Shiyiniang was his mother, so naturally it was up to her. The Grand Madam gave it no particular thought, and smiled while feeding Jin Ge’er a small piece of dried persimmon. “You can take care of the arrangements.”

“Then I will begin preparing for Jie Ge’er’s move,” Shiyiniang said, and handed the Grand Madam a brush dipped in vermilion-colored paint to fill in the petals of the plum blossoms on the Ninety-Nine Cold-Dispelling Chart — once all eighty-one petals were colored in, winter would be over.

Jin Ge’er sat up. “Grandmother, Grandmother, let me help you color them in!”

“Good, good, good.” The Grand Madam pressed the brush lovingly into Jin Ge’er’s hands. “Our Jin Ge’er will help Grandmother color them in.” She then seemed to remember something, let out a sound of recollection, and said: “At the opera performance that day, Fang Shi’s mother mentioned she would be setting off back to Huzhou in the next few days. For the silver to prepare her farewell gifts, have Zhuxiang go to Yu Ban to collect it.”

In the established customs of the An household, for relatives of Fang Shi’s mother’s standing, the farewell gift was twenty taels of silver. The Grand Madam’s instruction to collect it from Yu Ban meant it would be charged to the Grand Madam’s own accounts — which clearly meant she wished to add a little extra.

Shiyiniang thought of Fang Shi’s mother’s easy, gracious bearing before the Grand Madam, and knew that the Grand Madam had taken a liking to her. She agreed with a smile, and when the time came for Fang Shi’s mother’s departure, she hosted a farewell banquet, presenting both the Grand Madam’s farewell gift and her own. Fang Shi’s mother thanked them warmly and returned to Huzhou. Before the year was out, when sending New Year gifts to Third Madam, she made a special point of sending the Grand Madam two fifty-year-old ginseng roots, and sending Shiyiniang several taels of the finest quality blood swallow’s nest — adding ten percent on top of what the Grand Madam and Shiyiniang had sent her.

Shiyiniang told Xu Lingyi about it.

Xu Lingyi said: “This is exactly why I say such families are better kept at a distance — if you don’t send gifts, they think you’ve been discourteous; if you do send gifts, they will calculate everything down to the last detail and send back just a little more, making the whole affair particularly tiresome.”

Shiyiniang laughed outright, and said: “I’ve heard that the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate holds Fang the Zhuangyuan in high regard, and wants to invite Fang the Zhuangyuan to take a post at the Censorate. Is that really so? If it is, their family is set to produce yet another censor!”

Xu Lingyi was surprised. “Who told you that?”

Shiyiniang laughed. “Is the Marquis the only one allowed to keep his eyes and ears open in all directions? Am I not permitted to make use of mine?”

Xu Lingyi chuckled in spite of himself.

A young maidservant came in: “Madam, the New Year gifts from Gao Qing and from the Nanjing side have arrived!”

Items from the outer quarters would be taken into storage by the stewards. If there were nannies who had traveled with the delivery, they would come inside to pay their respects and present some small token gifts.

Shiyiniang left Xu Lingyi and went to the reception hall.

The delivery from the Nanjing side brought, as it always did, some fashionable ornaments and accessories. The Grand Madam no longer received guests these days, so Shiyiniang awarded silver and a meal and sent them off to eat, drink, and rest. The delivery from Seventh Sister brought some medicinal herbs. In addition to coming to pay her respects to Shiyiniang, the nanny who had made the journey also brought two letters with her.

“One is addressed to Madam, and one to Fifth Madam.” The nanny could barely conceal her joy. “Our mistress was found to be with child back in the ninth month, and now all is proceeding safely and smoothly. Thinking that Madam and Fifth Madam have been worrying on our mistress’s behalf, she wished to send word ahead of time. Fifth Madam is also due to give birth soon, and our mistress made some small garments and sent them along. It’s why the delivery of the New Year gifts was pushed back a little — she wanted to see to several things at once. We hope Madam will not take offense.” The nanny curtsied as she spoke.

“Truly!” Shiyiniang could not help but feel genuinely happy for Seventh Sister when she heard this. She tore open the letter without delay, skimmed through it in a few quick sweeps of her eyes, and immediately called for Qiu Yu with a smile. “Go and accompany this nanny to Fifth Madam’s.”

The nanny went off in high spirits.

Shiyiniang watched the nanny’s retreating figure, and suddenly found herself thinking of the adopted son who had been taken in by Seventh Sister…

—